An Orchestra of Minorities

Author: Obioma, Chigozie

Edition: Reprint

Number Of Pages: 464

Details:

A heartbreaking story about a Nigerian poultry farmer who sacrifices everything to win the woman he loves, by Man Booker Finalist and author of The Fishermen, Chigozie Obioma. "It is more than a superb and tragic novel; it's a historical treasure."- Boston Globe Set on the outskirts of Umuahia, Nigeria and narrated by a chi, or guardian spirit, An Orchestra of Minorities tells the story of Chinonso, a young poultry farmer whose soul is ignited when he sees a woman attempting to jump from a highway bridge. Horrified by her recklessness, Chinonso joins her on the roadside and hurls two of his prized chickens into the water below to express the severity of such a fall. The woman, Ndali, is stopped her in her tracks. Bonded by this night on the bridge, Chinonso and Ndali fall in love. But Ndali is from a wealthy family and struggles to imagine a future near a chicken coop. When her family objects to the union because he is uneducated, Chinonso sells most of his possessions to attend a college in Cyprus. But when he arrives he discovers there is no place at the school for him, and that he has been utterly duped by the young Nigerian who has made the arrangements... Penniless, homeless, and furious at a world which continues to relegate him to the sidelines, Chinonso gets further away from his dream, from Ndali and the farm he called home. Spanning continents, traversing the earth and cosmic spaces, and told by a narrator who has lived for hundreds of years, the novel is a contemporary twist of Homer's Odyssey. Written in the mythic style of the Igbo literary tradition, Chigozie Obioma weaves a heart-wrenching epic about destiny and determination. Amazon.com Review In 2015, Nigerian writer Chigozie Obioma’s debut, The Fisherman, was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize and announced the arrival of a talented new author. There is no drop-off in his sophomore effort, An Orchestra of Minorities, about a young farmer who, having fallen in love with a woman from a wealthy family, risks everything to prove his worth. As he did in his first novel, Obioma merges African and western storytelling traditions—in this case, the tale is narrated by the young man’s chi, or guardian spirit, and the story is patterned after The Odyssey—to create a dramatic, character-based novel. Readers will become immersed in his main character Chinonso’s journey, but it will leave them thinking about bigger themes as well—like the balance between self-determination and fate (or luck); and about the capacity for some to take advantage of others, and how that sort of mistreatment gets paid forward. --Chris Schluep, Amazon Book Review

Reviews:

"This is a book that wrenches the heart with its story of love, migration and inner turmoil, told with remarkable language from start to finish. Narrated by a cast of characters from Igbo spiritual tradition, the story of Chinonso, the chicken farmer begins and ends with tragedy. But his quest for a life with Ndali, the woman he loves, drives him to seek status and wealth as an African migrant in Europe, to transcend Nigeria's formidable class boundaries. The spirits look down on these human dramas of small town Nigeria and reveal the rich complexity of another realm along the way. Obioma's is a tale of Odyssian proportions that makes the heart soar, and a crucial journey into a heartache that is both mythical and real. A stunning book."

― Booker Prize 2019 Jury citation

" Gorgeously written, with a twist of magical realism and a heavy dose of sad reality."

― Washington Post

" Transcendent . . . Chigozie Obioma's second novel is a rare treasure: a book that deepens the mystery of the human experience."

― Seattle Times

"Igbo and Greek mythology are braided into this heartbreaking and utterly unique novel"

― Boris Kacka, Vulture

"Obioma's frenetically assured second novel is a spectacular artistic leap forwards . . . [it is] a linguistically flamboyant, fast-moving, fata...

EAN: 9780316412407

Release Date: 08-10-2019

Languages: English

Item Note: Great shape- pages are unmarked and sharp.Has a remainder mark. Paperback Used - Like New Ships fast! 2019Reprint

Item Condition: UsedLikeNew

Binding: Paperback